Stroke Fears.... again!

[meche]

I'm struggling to get past this one. After a couple of 'feel good' days it went downhill fast. Have had a one sided headache, eye pain, ear fullness & lightheadedness for 5 days now. Have also notice the gait of my walk has changed although nobody else has noticed this. My right arm feels like it doesn't belong to me & gets achy easily - no weakness or numbness and have been doing strength exercises to reassure myself. The side of my face feels odd - again not numb but it feels full & droopy - it's not! I've also developed an ache in my shoulder & I have tender spots on my head when I touch it. I've tried so hard to rationalise all these symptoms but I'm on a losing battle. I've felt so tired & weepy these past few days that I just feel like giving up. I can't get the 'bad' thoughts out of my head & my anxiety is starting to convince me I've had some kind of mini stroke & the big one isn't far away! Usually I'm very good at just carrying on but these symptoms are so forceful they're difficult to ignore. I don't know how to get past this one! X

[nervousmummytobe]

Hey! I'm sorry you feel like this!
The trouble with anxiety is how dominating it actually can be ... prevocing such thoughts as ' this is too physical to be symtpoms of just anxiety ' but truth is it most likely is......
I had this same stroke fear last year and convinced myself sick as all symtpoms were only on one side.... Id think everyday ' well if they were on both sides Id believe it was anxiety but its just one so it must be a disease ' .
I ended up going to see an amazing doctor who helped my mum through her anxiety, he had an hr long chat with me and spent the whole time subtly convinving me I was wrong about my self diagnosis . I remeber one thing significantly and that is ' anxiety plays on your fears.... it recognises what you are scared of and exaggerates these feelings and magnifies them' ...... which made sense... i was so scared of the feelings being all on my left side that they constantly got worse x

[carmen2012]

Hi Meche, I fully understand what your going through I myself suffer with HA it all started about 18 months ago I went to bed fine but woke up feeling very anxious & had my first panic attack I thought that I was going to have a stroke thank goodness I have never had one but it was a frightening experience my left arm didn't feel like it was mine & my eyes were blurred & I kept having sharp pains in my head.. I am very lucky to have a sympathetic Dr who reassured me that it was all anxiety related & there was no way that I was having a stroke the fear lasted a while & I kept thinking stroke day & night.. You mentioned your walking well I too felt that I was walking differently & kept asking my husband, he said no different to the dodgy walk I usually have haha....All my symptoms with HA have been on my left side for some reason..

However 18 months down the line & I haven't had a stroke thank god but the fear fed the anxiety...
I know that it is very difficult but if you was going to have a stroke it would have happened by now it doesn't slowly creep up I know this because my elderly mum had a stroke & it was sudden no warning..

Try doing some yoga or maybe go to the gym to release any stress you may have & most of all try to keep busy as I found being at home all day made me dwell on thoughts.. I am a house wife but I found yoga & the gym very theraputic... If your still worried maybe visit your Dr for some reassurance.
Hope that you feel better

[meche]

Aw - thanks for your replies ladies. Although it's not nice knowing you too have had these fears, it's reassuring to know I'm not alone... if that makes sense.

I'm just getting fed up with it because it's taking up so much of my thought process and affecting my time. I reluctantly went to my doctor about 2 months ago (hate going) with earache, popping ears and dizziness and she couldn't find anything wrong - no infection, no neuro nasties (she did those little exercises they make you do) but she did suggest I might have a blockage in my inner ear that will heal itself in time. She sent me on my way with some vertigo pills and that was that. Since then I've been up/down with the same symptoms and a few others . I had maybe 2 weeks of feeling great, then the headaches started again and this strange feeling in my right leg. It's not painful or even numb but at times it doesn't feel a part of me - same with my arm. I woke up the other morning convinced I wouldn't to be able to get out of bed because my leg felt so weird I thought it was going to collapse underneath me.... it didn't but I had to run up/down the stairs and hop around to prove something to myself.

I also have problem with my right eye. At times it feels blurry and this is the eye I get the pain in. My optic nerve was checked by the doctor and it seemed fine. The only time I ever get any relief from my symptoms is when I'm sat down engrossed in a book, something on TV or when I'm at work (I work full time). I can't spend my life doing these things though - I want to be the active, fun/life loving person I was 6 months ago but I'm struggling to find that person again and just feel so tired and drained by it all. xx

[heartanx]

How are you doing now?

[Fishmanpa]

This thread is from 2012. The OP was last on in Feb. of this year so it's apparent it wasn't anything sinister

Positive thoughts